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CANYON CORRIDOR CONNECTION
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28 | CANYON CORRIDOR CONNECTION 2016
Communi t y Highl ights
T
he above quotation, displayed on the
wall of Thunderbird Gymnasium, greets
the participants for the second CAFE
(Community and Family Engagement) event
on February 22, 2016. It is both a challenge
and a mission statement: To create these
transformational classrooms in all 32 schools
in the Washington Elementary School District
(WESD).
The participants come from education,
faith communities, businesses, non-profits,
government, parents and neighbors. Dr. Paul
Stanton, the WESD Superintendent, pointed
out that whether the youth were students,
customers, or congregants, they are all the
same kids just in different settings. Each school
has its own table for its many partners. Their
assignment: Develop trusting relationships,
share information, and explore what each has
to offer. Eight of the 32 schools are within
the Greater Canyon Corridor: Abraham
Lincoln Traditional, Alta Vista, Cactus Wren,
Manzanita, Ocotillo, Palo Verde, Roadrunner,
and Washington.
Jill Hicks, the WESD Director of Community
Engagement and Marketing, started the
Business Advisory Team in September 2011
to develop, enhance, and maintain mutually
supportive and strategic relationships between
the District and its surrounding business
community. Hicks said, “We have found that
when we partner with our community, we
create safer, more connected, more productive,
successful neighborhoods and schools!”
Then Tracey Beal, Pastor of Community
Development at Pure Heart Church, brought a
vision called School Connect to the District that
became the model for CAFE. Beal explained,
“This is a dream come true. The schools that
connect with community partners flourish
in your neighborhoods. The School Connect
movement was born in this district and is
spreading across the Valley and the state. What
is innovative is what happens tonight when the
principals communicate to their partners, their
partners get to give their special gifts, and they
all work together loving their schools.”
Meet some of the partners who attended the
second CAFE meeting. While some are new,
others have been involved with the schools for
quite a while.
Faith Partners
Kelly DeYoung, pastor of Kidz Ministry and
Christ’s Community Church, credits Jill Hicks
with opening the district’s outlook towards
working with faith communities. She said,
“Our church brings a holistic approach, not just
education but hearts and physical well being.”
Her church is working with Palo Verde Middle
School to fulfill their social worker’s dream to
organize and give out donated clothes from the
school’s Panther Den but she simply had no time
to do it. DeYoung said, “We went alongside
the program to help them get it going better.”
At Roadrunner Elementary School DeYoung
with some mothers in her church are starting a
coffee and donut gathering spot every Thursday
morning this fall. Named the Thursday Morning
Hangout, its purpose is to help parents connect
with each other and the school.
Bob Hake, pastor of the Orangewood Church of
the Nazarene, started working with the WESD
schools nine years ago. He explained that his
focus has now shifted to helping the social
workers in several schools. They put us in touch
with the kids and families with the greatest
needs. Strong families build strong communities.
He points out, “School Connect encourages
every faith community, business, and educator
to participate in an unprecedented movement
happening through these partnerships. Together
we have the power to shape the future of our
community. We are all leaders.”
When Reverand Dr. Theodore Elsenheimer
senior co-pastor of the Ktizo United Church of
Christ, went to Roadrunner Elementary School,
the principal, Paula McWhirter asked him,
“Would you like to do a garden?” She explained
that the school had an unfulfilled plan for that
project. Elsenheimer said yes and organized the
whole project. He and some church members got
the soil, lumber, and equipment, then met with
40-60 students, and many teachers before school
to work together on the project. In a week they
constructed the beds, filled them with soil and
planted them. He also did a school garden and
orchard at Manzanita Elementary School three
“I realize if you can change a classroom, you can change a
community, and if you change enough communities, you can
change the world.”
—Erin Gruwell
Developing Change Partners:
It’s A Marathon, Not A Sprint
by Beverly Konik